Gulf Edge signs strategic framework agreement with Google to provide AI infrastructure services
issued Thursday, January 22, 2026 · 04:25 PM
[BANGKOK] Thailand’s largest power producer, billionaire Saras Rattanabadi’s Gulf Development, is deepening its expansion into artificial intelligence with an agreement with Alphabet Inc.’s Google to jointly explore business opportunities.
Gulf Edge, a unit of Gulf Development, has entered into a strategic framework agreement with Google to provide AI infrastructure services, according to a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The partnership is aimed at supporting Gulf Development’s transition to becoming an AI-native technology company.
The agreement comes as Google executes plans to invest US$1 billion in data centers in Thailand.
For Salas, the move underscores his ambition to build a digital ecosystem across energy, virtual banking, telecommunications and data services, after consolidating the power and communications sectors last year.
As demand for AI and cloud computing services surges in the region, Gulf Development is ramping up investment in data centres, partnering with companies such as Microsoft and Singapore Telecommunications.
Under the agreement, Gulf Development and Google will target government organizations as well as enterprise customers in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and telecommunications. The partnership also aims to offer so-called sovereign AI and cloud capabilities designed for sensitive data.
navigating asia
new world order
Get insights delivered to your inbox.
Mr. Salas, CEO of Gulf Development, has a net worth of $13.2 billion, making him the second-richest person in the country, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. bloomberg
Decoding Asia Newsletter: A guide to navigating Asia in the new world order. Sign up here to get the Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. free.
